Monsters are Made, Not Born
by KungFuRichie
Summary: Sephiroth was not always the psychotic monster we've all grown to know and love. Before he was a villain, he was a hero. Before he was a hero, he was a man. Before he was a man, he was a child. This story explores his upbringing and unlikely rise to fame despite a life that was predicated on becoming the ultimate weapon. The tale features Sephiroth, Angeal, Genesis and Zack.
1. Prologue

_Hello all! Welcome to my first fic :). This story is going to be about Sephiroth's life prior to the start of the original PS1 game. I will be going through his childhood and exploring his relationships and struggles going through Project S as well as his rise to the legendary war hero he was known to be throughout Crisis Core._

 _I aim to provide updates to this at least once a week. Please feel free to leave me a review or a message for feedback and discussion!_

* * *

"Tell me about your progress on Project S, Professor Hojo" uttered the man calmly, taking a long drag from his cigar.

"Well, despite Gast's reservations on pursuing the project further until he verifies his suspicions, the development of the subject continues as planned," answered the Professor, brushing back a greasy lock of hair from obscuring his vision. "It seems that the specimen has had a very pronounced reaction to the injection of Jenova cells during the fetal stage, though not in the way we anticipated."

President Shinra nodded approvingly, the smoke from his cigar slightly obscuring his fat face and neatly combed moustache.

"And what is our good professor concerned about?"

"Jenova might not be an Ancient after all."

"Does that change anything?"

"No."

"Show me."

Hojo stood from his chair in the study and led the President through the creaky corridors of the mansion and down the wooden stairwell towards the basement. Though dark and filled with cobwebs, the unpaved stone walls and floor were illuminated by torchlight.

"Barbaric," commented the President. "You know, you were provided with a budget."

"These working conditions matter not," responded Hojo, opening the door at the end of the hall and allowing the President to enter first.

Illuminated in green light that was the result of the fluorescent light bulbs lining the tubs of concentrated mako, the lab was quite small and compact. Bookshelves lined the walls of the laboratory, as a single chandelier hung above the room.

In the middle of the room was a playpen.

"This is the subject?" inquired President Shinra.

Hojo nodded.

The naked, infant child cried as his body was exposed to the cold, hard floor of the laboratory. There were no toys, no comforters and no other accessories within the playpen itself.

The President cocked an eyebrow, unconvinced.

"This is no super soldier, this is an infant."

Hojo's laughter radiated throughout the lab, echoing off the walls.

"This is my son, and he will be the crowning achievement of the Jenova Project."


	2. Chapter 1

"Sephiroth, are you listening?" inquired the man, his crinkled eyes sparkling behind his round glasses.

The boy had his eyes turned towards the window. Large construction cranes and robotic armaments surrounded a half-completed building that could be seen from the floor on which they sat.

Despite the plumes of smoke and constant construction that obscured his vision from the 39th floor of the ShinRa building, Sephiroth could still make out the sunrays that permeated the urban landscape.

Subtle finger taps to the desk brought his attention back to the old man.

"Sorry, Professor Gast," said Sephiroth sincerely, though a mischievous glint remained in his eye.

Gast laughed as he ruffled Sephiroth's short, silver hair.

"I asked you how you're feeling today?" said Gast patiently, a smile hidden beneath his brown moustache. "Professor Hojo told me you haven't eaten yet."

"I'm not hungry."

"Sure you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Then why is your stomach grumbling."

Sephiroth did not respond.

"You know, son, you can talk to me," said Gast.

Sephiroth's eyes met Gast's.

"Why am I here?" he asked simply.

Gast faltered slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Why am I here?" reiterated Sephiroth, his gaze unwavering.

"You are here to accumulate knowledge and develop your skills, just like every other child your age," answered Gast diplomatically. "We have a responsibility as your teachers and your mentors to make sure you can make it out there in the real world once you're grown up!"

"Where are my parents?" asked Sephiroth, his inquisitive tone reflecting his youth.

"We've talked about this."

Sephiroth nodded.

"I don't want to be special!" he exclaimed, falling back out of his chair. He lay on the ground, spread eagle, as he stared at the ceiling. "And I hate the food Hojo gives me."

"That food is meant to make you big and strong," reaffirmed Gast.

Even at the age of ten, Sephiroth could tell when he was being spoken to truthfully and when he was being placated. Gast understood this as well. How could Gast expect Sephiroth to be truthful and honest if they were not willing to do the same?

"Do you know what tomorrow is?" asked Gast, trying to change the subject.

"No."

"Tomorrow, you start working with materia."

Sephiroth's ears perked up at that.

"You mean like how you could make fire from your hand the other day?" inquired Sephiroth.

Gast nodded.

"However, you can only start that part of your training if you finish your assignments," said Gast, gesturing to the mathematics workbooks strewn across the desk.

Sephiroth pouted as he got back to work.

* * *

"I don't like this, Hojo," said Professor Gast, frowning as he looked through the one-way mirror. Sephiroth continued working diligently on his assignment. "He is a child, an innocent and bright one."

"He is the prime subject of Project S, a subdivision of your very own Jenova Project," retorted Hojo. "And with all due respect, thousands of gil have been invested into this project. Don't have second thoughts now just because you have pity for him."

Gast shook his head.

"It isn't only that. Jenova isn't what we think she is," continued Gast.

Hojo chuckled quietly to himself, shaking his head.

"A little late for that revelation, isn't it, professor?" inquired Hojo rhetorically.

"This is still my project, professor," responded Gast. "If I feel like we need to pull the plug, then we are pulling the plug. I'm not saying that we will; but the more research I do, the more I feel like we need to go back to the drawing board."

"Again, with all due respect," repeated Hojo, though the good humor was gone from his voice. "That is my son, and I will do with him what I wish."

Both professors looked through the glass at Sephiroth, who had abandoned his assignments and was peering out the window towards the rest of Midgar. As he turned his head back, his eyes seemed to go right through the glass.

His gaze met Hojo's, and he smiled.


	3. Chapter 2

"I want to use that one!" exclaimed Sephiroth, gesturing towards the large, amber orb that rested on a pedestal well above the shelves that housed the other materia.

While there were some orbs in the large storeroom that were dusty and untouched, there were many others that were scratched and dented beyond repair. The room was dimly lit by a single light bulb that hung from the ceiling by a thread.

Gast shook his head in exasperation.

"You would think that a company worth millions and millions of gil would know how to better look after their assets," said Gast to himself, ignoring Sephiroth's comment. "You can't use that one, Sephiroth. It's a summon materia and is well beyond what you would be capable of. I don't even know what it's doing in this storeroom. These materia are either weak products or overused. "

Before he could continue, Sephiroth had leapt up onto a nearby ledge. Using it as a platform, he jumped high enough to snatch the summon materia from the pedestal before falling hard onto his side.

Getting up gingerly, he gave Gast a wry smile before darting out of the room.

"Sephiroth, get back here!" yelled Gast's trailing voice.

As Sephiroth winded his way through the halls, a juvenile glint filled his eyes. Laughing happily as he darted past guards and lab personnel, he turned corner after corner until the main elevators were in sight.

As the doors opened, Sephiroth ran in and immediately fell backwards.

"And where do you think you're running off to?" asked Hojo, looking down on the boy.

Sephiroth stuck out his tongue at Hojo and ran in the opposite direction.

As he made his way to a large room, he looked back to make sure he lost all of his pursuers, of which there weren't any.

Seeing as the room he was in was empty except for some clear vats and caged animals, he pulled out the materia he had snatched.

Intuitively, the orb pulsed as Sephiroth felt a strange connection with it. It was almost like an extension of his arm. He could feel as if voices were speaking to him from the orb.

The voices congregated into a singular, deep growl.

"Release me from my prison," it said ominously.

Sephiroth's curiosity was at an all-time high. He could feel a tingling in his bones as parts of him seemed to meld with the orb. He did not understand what was happening.

"Release me!" it roared.

An aura of fire engulfed Sephiroth, as the orb shined with the same, crimson light as the flames around him. A beam of fire shot out of the orb, breaking a containment vat in front of him. As the beam continued to pour out of the orb, a being began to materialize on top of the broken shards.

"I am free," the beast roared, as Sephiroth felt control leave his body.

Though he still stood there, orb in hand, the flame that had engulfed him kept him caged and unable to move. He could feel himself getting more tired by the second. It felt like his energy was being sucked out of him through the palm of his hand.

A large, muscular titan stood before him. Flawless, green skin seemed to be coated with a brown sheen, as long purple hair cascaded down its back. Large ram horns protruded from the beast's head as its crimson eyes shined with the same glow as the orb from which it was summoned.

"Ifrit!" roared Gast's voice, as he finally caught up with Sephiroth.

Although Sephiroth's vision was blurred, he could hear incoming footsteps from what sounded like dozens of people. Gunfire could be heard, and the loud roar of Sephiroth's captor radiated through the room.

Sephiroth's vision was now completely obscured by the prison of fire that surrounded him. He tried to scream but no sound escaped. Tears streamed down his face, as he continued to feel the energy seep from him.

However, it was over almost as quickly as it had begun.

Sephiroth could feel his connection to the orb sever as he fell onto his knees. He proceeded to vomit profusely, releasing the orb from his hand.

Though there were no remains of the beast, he could still smell and see the damage that had been left behind.

Stray bullets scattered the room, as different pieces of lab equipment were either burning or already burnt to cinders.

Looking up from his kneeled position, he saw many injured infantrymen, whose ShinRa-regulation blue armor had been burned right through. Among the injured was Professor Gast, who had a nasty head wound that was coated in dried blood.

Before Sephiroth could stand and rush towards Gast, he felt the back of a hand strike him across the face. Falling backwards, he looked up in surprise.

"You idiot! Do you know how much damage you've caused here?" said Hojo in a rage, gesturing to the damaged equipment and vats. "

"P-Professor, it was an accident! I swear, I didn't mean—"

Surprise took him again as he fell backwards due to another strike.

"Take him to the isolation room. I'll deal with him later," commanded Hojo.

And although Hojo appeared furious, it was strange to Sephiroth to hear the professor seemingly laughing with jubilation as he was being pulled away.

* * *

As the door of the pitch black room opened, Sephiroth peered up from where he lay.

"Turn on these god damn lights! This is a child, not some war criminal!" said Professor Gast furiously. "My child, I am so sorry you've been treated like this."

As Gast kneeled down and picked up Sephiroth, the boy wrapped his arms around the professor's neck and began to sob.

"I'm sorry professor! I didn't mean to get you hurt! I'm sorry about stealing the materia! I am—"

"Hush child," said Gast, carrying Sephiroth out of the room. Though he had a heavy bandage around his head, it did little to dampen the smile he offered the child. "It is not your fault. Curiosity is not a sin, my son. It was my fault. It was negligent of me to bring you around tools and weapons you had yet to understand."

As Gast carried Sephiroth through the halls, Sephiroth clutched tighter to the professor.

"I hate Hojo," he said quietly.

"Hojo may be callous at times; but he is a man of science and you are an extremely gifted child. He expects great things from you, but he isn't the most patient of men," responded Gast quietly. "I promise to protect you from him until he can understand that a child is a child, no matter how gifted."

It seemed like Gast was speaking more to himself than answering Sephiroth.

As they reached Sephiroth's bedroom, which was devoid of any decorations besides a small, brown bear that lay on the children-sized bed, Gast set him down upon the cushions and smiled.

"Get some rest. I will be back with food and water, and we'll start your materia training the right way. Today was not your fault. If anything, it was mine," said Gast with a smile, pulling the covers up to cover Sephiroth's body.

"What did I do?" asked Sephiroth.

"I will explain it to you when we resume our studies."

* * *

"Did you see what he did?" asked Hojo, the glee barely contained from his voice. "This was a newly extracted Ifrit materia, and he wielded it with the same results we would have generated from an expert utilizing a mastered materia!"

Gast sighed.

"Don't you see? He's everything he hoped he was and more. With powers like these, he is definitely the key to reaching the Promised Land! If not as a direct descended of the Cetra, at least as a conduit!" continued Hojo.

President Shinra laughed from behind his desk, and Hojo followed suit.

Gast shook his head.

"My research is showing the opposite. Jenova seems to not be of this world. I think our initial ideas on her origin are wrong. We moved too quickly when using these cells on these kids for Project S and Project G," said Gast quietly. "We need to consider pulling the plug and starting from scratch. The Promised Land isn't going anywhere."

President Shinra slammed his meaty fist onto the desk.

"I did not invest thousands of gil into this project just to have us go back to square one. We already have proof here that the Jenova cells have gifted Sephiroth with abilities some grown men could only dream of! We only have to figure out what this means and how we can turn this research into mako… lots and lots of mako," retorted the president.

Gast almost physically rolled his eyes at the man's ignorance. However, Hojo smiled.

"You put me in charge of Project S for a reason, Gast. Let me do my job."

Gast raised his hands in exasperation.

"I have a few more tests pending right now, and should be getting the results from ShinRa Manor within the week. If my new hypothesis proves correct, nothing any of you say will stop me from pulling the plug on this."

With that, Gast stormed out of the room.

Hojo and President Shinra's eyes followed him out, before meeting each other's gazes.

"Will he be a problem?" asked the president.

"No."


End file.
